Decisions, Decisions
Episode 3 of Season three of War. Enjoy. :) Decisions, Decisions The black tom hurried through the woods, panting. His breathing was labored and the wind stung his eyes, making him purr. He loved this. He ran through the names in his head. Larkcall, Strongstep, Stoneheart, Oakclaw, Clawstrike, Mistystorm. He couldn't believe he had been chosen. He was helping write history. Obviously, he wasn't as important as Waterstar or Riverclaw or anything, but still. Maybe kits would argue about who got to play him when they acted out the story. Or elder's would make special note of his bravery when they told the tale. I could end the war. With that warm through to fill his mind, he raced off into the night. "Ow! Careful!" Oakclaw yelps as I carefully peel back the cobweb bandage. Grayleaf is out collecting herbs so I get the 'easy' job of getting rid of the bandages. Of course, with Oakclaw as the patient, there's nothing easy about it. I roll my eyes. "If you just yank it off it won't take as long." "Yeah, but it'd hurt." Oakclaw mutters, huffing. "Aw, poor kitten," I tease. "Are you afraid?" "No...I just...don't want any to get on my fur," he insists. When he sees my look he rolls his eyes. "Fine, do your worst." Purring, I yank off the bandage and Oakclaw yelps. "I told you so!" I ignore him, balling up the cobweb until it becomes a disturbing concoction of spider thread, dried blood, and herb poultices. I nudge it to fit with the other ones and Oakclaw sighs, still muttering. "I'd better get rid of these," I begin to nudge the balls out of the den with my nose- there's no way I'm putting them in my mouth. "No, Brookfall! I'm so bored-" I ignore him and pad out of the medicine den and into the garrison. I let the sunshine soak in my fur and I sigh happily. I get the cobweb balls to the dirt-place, wrinkling my nose in disgust. I walk out of the dirt-place and head back to the garrison. There's all kinds of garrisons stationed on the border between FireClan and WaterClan. Miniature camps, fortified with briars and thorns, they were meant to be forts for long-term stationed soldiers on the border. An entire camp could fit inside. At the time though, the only ones this garrison housed was our group. It still felt far too crowded. First of all, there was Gorsefur. Ever since I realized I didn't have the same feelings for him that I used to and he realized he did, things had been stilted between us. Even worse, he'd become commander and created a chasm so large between us I had no idea how to go about crossing it. And if that wasn't bad enough, a few days ago, when his life had been in danger, I'd totally lost it. I didn't want to think about having feelings for him again, but I couldn't tell myself it wasn't true. I honestly had no idea. Then there was Oakclaw. Okay, I know he got taken hostage and almost tortured to death, but he's so milking it for all it's worth. I've spent what feels like days in the medicine den keeping him company because no one else wants to or has the time to. Even Grayleaf finds cute little excuses to go out and collect herbs which I can't bear to refute. Of course, if what's going on with Shadowsong tells me anything, there's another reason why Oakclaw's being so clingy. Shadowsong's been erratic as anything. She spends her time in camp brooding or tearing apart squirrels and when she goes out of camp it's for long, unexplained periods of time. And when she comes back her eyes are dry but she looks...broken. No one dares ask for fear of being killed in unspeakably disturbing ways, but I think it's safe to say everyone in the squad is single for the first time since our unbearably awkward conversation about kits. And of course, the new recruits. There's Briarclaw, who's just as sarcastic as Adderscar, but twice the know-it-all. At least she seems content to go hunting and look for weird plants and stuff, because I don't know how I'd deal with her otherwise. Grayleaf is utterly adorable, which I would never tell him because he takes himself so seriously. But every time I see him I think of how this war will eventually find some way to take that innocence and burn it, bury it, and make its remains unrecognizable. That's not something I can ignore. Then there's Stormflight. He was the catalyst for this all. A few days ago, the FireClan commander of the squad we'd been sent here to take out took Oakclaw hostage and demanded Stormflight in exchange. If it weren't for an extremely unusual plan from Briarclaw and Stormflight's own guts, chances are we wouldn't have scraped through. No one knows why the FireClan cats wanted the barely trained soldier, but we all have our own theories. Stormflight maintains his aura of arrogance and annoyingness enough so that no one bothers trying to be friendly to figure it out. This doesn't even account the ghosts who've been haunting us all this way. Badgerstrike, who betrayed us for reasons I can only hope to guess. His departure shocked all of us, especially Gorsefur who'd been his second and his protégé. Badgerstrike tore out whatever I left of Gorsefur's broken heart and made him take command of a squad of petty kits. Silverflower, whose death tore us apart. Grayleaf is great, but he's not the same. And Adderscar, who left because he blamed himself for something he never could have stopped. So it's understandable why I want to stand here for a moment and breathe in the clean air and hear the quiet noises of the rustling forest- "Help!" I blink, meditation shattered. I stand for a moment, ear cocked, but nothing else sounds. You imagined it. I turn, ready to go back to the garrison, when it comes again. "Help!" I turn, racing back into the woods. The terrified calls continue and I press myself. I always was the fastest, I think, grimly satisfied as I burst into a clearing. Sunlight sprinkles my fur and I survey the situation. A small black tom crouches against a tree, his pale blue eyes wide. Four rats circle him, chittering and I feel myself sigh with relief. Foxes, badgers, FireClan, I get outclassed by the others when fighting those. But rats weren't exactly uncommon in my small home on the edge of WaterClan territory. I leap forward, landing on one rat and tearing it apart in a moment. The others regard me wearily and I swat one aside. It flies away and I hear a crack as it strike the ground. Two for two. The other two rats seem to be smarter because they hang back, snarling, revealing their huge teeth. The tom hangs back against the tree, eyes wide, not really helping. At least the rats aren't targeting him anymore. I fake left, then dodge right, rolling away from the two rats. I catch one in my jaws, choking for a moment. I crunch down, managing to break its spine. Dropping the body, I work my sore jaw for a moment, then shriek as the fourth rat bites into my flank. I shake, but it refuses to let go. And then the tom is there, seemingly done with his nerves. He plucks the rat off of me and, almost unsurely, bites its neck, killing it. "Is it dead?" he asks. I snort, sitting down. The blood streams from my flank and I feel dizzy for a moment. "Main?" He nods. "We don't have a lot fo rats there...thank you. I'm sorry I didn't help sooner, I was just scared and, well, I didn't expect a pretty she-cat to come rescue me." he drops his eyes to my flank. "We need to get you somewhere." No duh. I stagger to my feet and begin to lead the way back to the garrison. "Is this near the Stonestrong garrison?" he asks. I never understood Main's obsession/tradition with giving names to camps and garrisons. They aren't warriors, even cats. It's ridiculous. Though, with such a large territory, I suppose it makes some sense. Realizing the tom is still looking at me, I struggle to remember the official name of our fort. "Er, yeah, that's where we're headed." "Do you know Oakclaw? He's there, right?" I nod, then gasp in mock (sort of mock) horror. "I'm going to have to share the medicine den with him. Oh, you'd better put me out of my misery." I giggle, then realize I've somehow gotten on the ground. Shadows writhe around me and I don't want to fight against the dark. "Oh no," the tom looks at me fearfully. "I'll be right back, just try to stay awake. I'll hurry, I promise. Hang on!" He rushes the way we were heading and I purr again. Everyone's always in such a hurry, why is everyone always hurrying? We all die eventually. "I don't feel so good..." I whimper. And that's the last thing I think before the shadows win, dragging me down into a deep sleep. "'Oh no, don't kill me!'" the spider scuttled away from the two ants who dogged it persistently. "'Aaaah.'" the spider went down and Oakclaw sighed. Where was Brookfall? She should be back by now. Worry fought with the urge to laugh it off as her sneaking off with Gorsefur. "Oakclaw?" He froze and turned. Shadowsong stood at the entrance to the medicine den, her eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Were you...narrating a fight to the death? Between bugs?" Oakclaw felt caught in her eyes and, not knowing what else to do, he nodded. "Great StarClan you're pathetic. Have you seen Brookfall? We have to go patrol." Oakclaw shook his head. "Shadowsong, we need to-" "Stop." her eyes narrowed and she went into her shell. That gray zone where she stopped being the fiery she-cat he loved and started being the ice-cold warrior who'd returned from FireClan prison. "I'm looking for Brookfall. Please...just...let this be normal." "Whatever," he sighed. "She left a while ago, I have no idea where she is." He looked at her, unable to resist. "Unless Gorsefur's missing too." "Very funny," Shadowsong sounded relieved. "I'd better go check. Seeya." She disappeared and Oakclaw slumped. The two ants started toward him and he sighed, flicking them off his nest. "Not today you bloodthirsty bugs," Gorsefur was tense with anxiety. "So...you're saying...she's in the forest. Alone, with an infected rat bite?" The courier nodded, his pale blue eyes wide. "Do you have a medicine cat? I can lead him or her back." Gorsefur struggled to rear in his jealousy at the look in the tom's eye. She could be dead now because of you, he wanted to spit. Thundercloud is out there, what if he...? "Yeah, yeah...I'll get Grayleaf," Gorsefur muttered. He slunk away, not feeling very commander-ly. He bumped into Shadowsong as she exited the medicine den. She hurried away, nodding to him and he peeked inside. Oakclaw was flicking around bugs, but no Grayleaf. "Gorsefur?" he looked up to see the little medicine cat trotting towards him. "What's wrong?" "Brookfall's in trouble, come on." He led the medicine cat back to the courier who disappeared with him into the dawn. Gorsefur stood and watched, feeling helpless. If they don't find her, someone's getting clawed. He paced for a moment, glaring after the two toms. Then, finally, he gave up and pelted after them. I look around. The forest is colored in bright, angry shades of pink, orange, and green. "Helloooo?" "Brookfall?" I turn to see Gorsefur. His gray fur is disheveled. On anyone else, it would look ridiculous, but on him it just made him look more handsome. His eyes glitter, two tiny suns. "Brookfall, hang on." "To what?" I purr at my own joke and Gorsefur looks pained. "Wait, does this mean you're dying too? Because we can't have that." I totter towards him uncertainly. "You're too good to go dying from rat bites." "She's hallucinating," Gorsefur says, though not to me. "Hurry, we're losing her." "I mean, there were rats in my old camp, this isn't the first time I've been bitten. But I guess this rat had like, some super rat disease. Sucks." "Brookfall, stay with me." he begs, talking to me again. "Oh, I wish I could," I touch his nose playfully, dancing around him. "I really do. I think I'm in love with you, did you know that? Hey, did you know Gorse rhymes with horse? And course? And-" "Did you hear what she just..." Gorsefur is talking to someone else again. Is he crazy? Am I crazy? "Brookfall, what did you just say?" "Erm..." I blink, trying to remember. "I dunno. But Gorsefur, I think I'm dreaming. I don't think you're real." "Brookfall?" he meows, not hearing me. "Grayleaf, we need that burdock whatsit now!" "Gorsefur, I'm dying, aren't I?" I see in a moment of clarity. The trees swim around me, dropping leaves that turn into cobweb balls. "And you're not here. So why can you hear me?" "Grayleaf!" Gorsefur shouts. He shimmers and I rush forward, slipping in cobwebs and blood. "Gorsefur!" He vanishes and I let out a choked sob. And then suddenly I shriek with pain. The colored forest burns with fire and I howl, consumed with it. Beady black eyes watch me from the burning forest and the giant rat leaps and I scream and scream and scream. Gorsefur watched in horror as Brookfall started to convulse, shrieks bubbling from her mouth. She had been twitching when they got here, muttering things. She was hallucinating, but it seemed like she heard him. He heard some of what she said too, mostly nonsense. But once...he knew he heard her say- One of her shrieks drew him out of his thoughts. He tried to push forward, to get to her. Grayleaf blocked his path. "Gorsefur, this is normal. The burdock will feel like fire for a little bit. It's okay though, she'll be okay." Grayleaf looked terrified and Gorsefur realized he'd nearly started to cry. He straightened up and nodded. "Thank you," he meowed warmly to Grayleaf who ducked his head. "You too," he meowed, colder to the new tom. The black tom looked at Brookfall, then back to Gorsefur. "Erm, if she's okay, we need to get back. I have a mission for one of you." Gorsefur nodded, suddenly exhausted. He picked up Brookfall, carrying her easily back towards the garrison. Her shrieks had quieted, now a soft, steadying breathing. Her silence spoke to him though, more then anything did. I think I'm in love you. I jerk awake with a gasp. My first thought is Oh StarClan, I said something stupid. My second thought is exactly how much I hurt. I blink and look around. I'm not in the medicine den and I prickle with unease for a moment. Then I see Shadowsong and I relax. She notices I'm awake and heaves a dramatic sigh of relief. "What's going on?" I ask, my voice cracking slightly. I'm thirsty. How long was I out? "Some idiot got bitten by a rat and made all of us freak out. Seriously, who almost dies because of a rat bite?" she smirks but she looks exhausted. She disappears for a moment, then reappears with a large leaf. Setting it down carefully in front of me, I see the water cupped inside. "Grayleaf said to give that to you when you woke up. He brought some mossballs soaked with water back too." "StarClan bless that tom," I mutter, lapping up the water. Shadowsong snorts. "As soon as you're ready, we have to go." "Why?" I slurp the last of the water and relax, sated for the moment. "Are we being attacked?" "If we were being attacked, my dear kitten, I would be out kicking tail, not talking to you. No, Oakclaw got a job. So Gorsefur's packing us all out." I shiver in relief. No rats, no Thundercloud, no more insanity. "What's the job?" Shadowsong's eyes narrow slightly. "Apparently Firestar and Waterstar are having a meeting. Oakclaw's been picked as a guard. Rumor has it they might be ending the war. More water?" Wordlessly, I shake my head. Main is perfectly normal looking which makes me want to sob in relief. Apparently I was only out for half a day, but I was able to entertain everyone on the walk with my tales of the colored forest, giant rats, and a strange talking fish who wanted me to crown them queen of FireClan. Why would a queen lead FireClan? It was weird. And Gorsefur didn't talk to me. Not once. I don't remember what I said, but it must have been terrible. He looked so sad, so crushed. Did I turn him down again? Did I tell him something horrible? Oh StarClan, this will kill me. We descend into the clearing and Sparrowfall, the courier, gives me a nervous grin before leading us through the winding Barracks and into the Leader's clearing. "You were the last ones I had to get, the meeting starts tonight. We were supposed to arrive this morning, but with Brookfall.." I sigh, "Sorry all." "Ah, my favorite squadron." We look up to see the dark leader of WaterClan pad over to us. Sparrowfall gives a little bow of his head and the rest of us nod as well, the older members reluctantly. Waterstar was cruel to us. She tortured us for half a moon 'deciding' whether or not to allow us to rescue Shadowsong and Gorsefur. She threw us to FireClan, on a second attempt to kill Firestar. Silverflower was killed, Badgerstrike and Adderscar lost. She's threatened us more times than I care to remember and I loathe her. "Waterstar," Oakclaw meows, looking at Gorsefur uncertainly. "Reporting for the guard." "So you're the Oakclaw I've heard so much about?" Waterstar looks him down, then narrows her eyes. "What's with all the cobwebs?" "Erm..." Oakclaw looks back at us. Stormflight's eyes are wide and I know what he's thinking. He could be executed as a traitor or put in prison on the mere word that a FireClan wanting to kidnap him. "I got in a fight," Oakclaw lies. "You should've seen the other tom." Waterstar pauses and we all hold our breath. Then she purrs. "The meeting begins at sundown. Be ready." She sweeps away and we all exhale. I catch Gorsefur's eye and offer a nervous smile. He looks away. Waterstar entered the clearing with an air of importance. Oakclaw eyed her warily. On the other side of the clearing, the FireClan guards were stationed in a semi-circle around their half of the circle. Since they asked for the meeting, it's on WaterClan territory, but barely. Oakclaw had been patient with Shadowsong's fear of FireClan, though he'd never really understood it. Now he did. He forced himself to glare at each of the glowering FireClan warriors in turn, but he felt cold inside. Afraid. An unfamiliar feeling, he hated it instantly. Think about how bad it must've been for her. You were taken for a day, she was gone half a moon. He shoved her out of his head, and his eyes widened as Firestar entered the clearing. For a fleeting moment, Oakclaw wondered what it would be like if he sprinted across the clearing now. Slashed Firestar in the throat, killed the cat who had taken Shadowsong and Gorsefur, killed Silverflower, turned Badgerstrike, lost Adderscar. But he shoved that aside, into the corner of his mind Shadowsong was currently occupying. Oakclaw half expected Badgerstrike to be with him, but he wasn't. Oakclaw didn't know whether to feel relieved or upset. The way Gorsefur told it, Badgerstrike wanted to be FireClan, but protect his squad. Waterstar could never know he was a traitor. "Firestar," Waterstar said quietly. "Waterstar," he returned, charmingly. And, with the merest of nods, they each sat. The warriors kept their distance, but stared thorns at each other. Oakclaw was so caught up in it he barely noticed the time passing or the moon slipping into the sky. When he did, he tried to listen to the leaders. "-casualties are too high and costs as well." Waterstar meowed. "I would like to hear your proposal." "My proposal?" Firestar leaned forward and Oakclaw saw what he was doing- turning on some kind of roguish charm to seem more collected then he was. The warriors all hung onto his soft voice. "My proposal is that we end the war." Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics